24 September 2023 , 19:32
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James Maddison aimed a light-hearted dig at Bukayo Saka after the Arsenal forward mimicked his goal celebration during an intense North London Derby on Sunday.
Both Maddison, 26, and Saka, 22, shone for their respective sides in an enthralling match which finished all-square at 2-2. Saka's strike was diverted into the net by Cristiano Romero to hand Arsenal an early lead before Son Heung-min equalised for Tottenham on the stroke of half-time after being teed up by Maddison.
Saka restored Arsenal's lead early in the second half, but Maddison pinched possession from Jorginho to play in Son for an equaliser just 27 seconds later. Saka marked his goals by copying Maddison's darts inspired celebration, but the England winger was given the runaround by his international colleague in the build-up to Spurs' first goal.
And once the dust had settled, Maddison saw the funny side. Speaking after the match, the Spurs playmaker quipped: "Me and Bukayo had a bit of banter and a bit of trash talking, if you like, on international duty.
"I got told he did the darts celebration. He must have still been doing it when I turned him for the first goal, so I'll have a little word with him in there.”
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Maddison has enjoyed a stunning start to life at Tottenham since joining Ange Postecoglou's side from Leicester in the summer. He now has two goals and four assists in just six Premier League games so far this term following his brace of assists on Sunday.
Although Spurs have garnered an unwanted reputation for being soft in recent years, Maddison is adamant that their spirited fightback at the Emirates underlines the significant progress they have already made under Postecoglou.
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James Maddison joked he would be having words with Bukayo Saka (Tottenham Hotspur FC)He added: “Neutrals talk about Tottenham, they often say; soft, weak, bottle it, Spursy, all that rubbish. I think the last couple of weeks shows we might be going in a slightly different direction.”
Tottenham fans were watching with bated breath when Maddison crumpled to the turf in agony in the second half following a tangle. Replays showed a nasty extension of Maddison's knee, but he did manage to play on.
Postecoglou played down talk of an injury after the match when he also issued an update on Brennan Johnson, who appeared to sustain a hamstring injury. He said: "I'm not sure with Brennan, he felt his hamstring. Madders wasn't 100 per cent going into the game but he got through it fine."